U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill that would give the Department of Transportation oversight of the cruise industry and act as the lead federal agency for cruise consumer protection, similar to the role it has in aviation.
Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and a frequent critic of the industry, said the legislation also would “close gaps in cruise industry consumer awareness and crime reporting.”
“This bill is the only way we’re going to make consumer awareness and protection a priority, since the cruise industry seems to refuse to take action on its own,” Rockefeller said. “During our hearing 16 months ago, after a number of high-profile incidents, the industry promised to make real changes, but I had my doubts. Once the TV cameras turned off, and the more our inquiries uncovered, it became clear that nothing was going to change without Congressional action.”
Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia who is retiring in November 2014, said the legislation was co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut.
In the House, Rep. Doris Matsui, a Democrat from California, and Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, introduced similar cruise consumer protection legislation. Matsui said the House bill would build on security measures in 2010’s Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) by toughening the crime reporting and video surveillance requirements. For example, it would require cruise lines to notify the FBI within four hours of an alleged incident and before the ship leaves a U.S. port. It also would transfer authority for maintaining the Internet website of alleged crimes on cruise ships from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Department of Transportation.
Rockefeller has already scheduled a committee hearing at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time July 24 titled, “Cruise Industry Oversight: Recent Incidents Show Need for Stronger Focus on Consumer Protection.” The hearing can be viewed on a webcast.
He plans to focus on consumer protections, crime reporting, safety issues and recent ship incidents. “At the same time, cruise companies continue to impose significant limits by requiring passengers to waive their legal rights when buying their ticket, which further restricts passengers’ abilities to hold cruise lines accountable when things go wrong,” he said in a press release.
As outlined in Rockefeller’s press release, the “Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2013” would:
· “Give consumers a clear upfront summary of the restrictive terms and conditions in cruise contracts. The Secretary of Transportation would develop standards for the cruise lines to provide prospective passengers with a short summary of the key terms in the contract. Consumers would be able to read a plain language summary of the key rights and limitations that passengers have during their cruise so they are fully aware of what rights they have, and don’t have, before they book their tickets.
· “Give the federal government more authority to protect cruise ship passengers. The Department of Transportation would be the lead federal agency for cruise ship consumer protection, similar to the role it has in aviation consumer protection. Passengers would also have additional protections in the event of a problem by giving the department the authority to investigate consumer complaints.
· “Help passengers who encounter problems on cruise ships. Create a toll-free hotline for consumer complaints. An Advisory Committee for Passenger Vessel Consumer Protection would be created to make recommendations to improve existing consumer protection programs and services.
· “Make all crimes alleged on cruise ships publicly available information. The FBI currently only reports crimes that are no longer under investigation. This causes the number of alleged crimes to be severely underreported and does not give potential passengers accurate information about the safety of cruises. Cruise lines would also be required to place video cameras in public areas and would set requirements for cruise lines to keep the video footage.
· “Help passengers who have been a victim of a crime on the cruise ship, since they have limited access to law enforcement. The Department of Transportation would establish a victim advocate who can provide assistance to victims on board a cruise ship, make sure the victim is aware of his or her rights in international waters, and get access to appropriate law enforcement officers.”
This bill appears to basically mirror a similar bill introduce back in March 2013 by New York Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for a "Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights.
